Prepared sulphur



. comprises the.

5 a quantity Patented May 2 4, 1927.

UNITED STATES FRANCIS H. POUGH, OF ST. LOUIS,

' SOUTHERN ACID 86 SULPHUR GOMPA VIRGINIA.

MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, 'I'O NY, mconrormren, A CORPORATION or PREPARED SULPHUR.

No Drawing. Application filed November 24, 1924, Serial No. 752,033. Renewed April 8,1927.

Sulphur is a recognized fungicide and, when sufficiently finely divided, is well suited for application to orchard trees and the like by the process of dusting. This process blowing of the sulphur in a 'cloud of dust that reaches and settleson all parts of the tree. Among the principal merits of such process are these: It requires no mixing or preparation of chemicals, it is I" very rapid, and it not only distributes the sulphur very thoroughly but leaves it on the trees. its; however, the dusting process is not used nearly so extensively as liquid spraying processes because finely divided sulphur has a tendency to aggregate into pellets that pass through the blower without being disintegrated and not only impair the thorough- 4 ness of the distribution but fall to the 9 ground instead of remaining on the trees. The purpose of the present invention is to overcome or minimize this tendency to aggregate without impairing the fungicidal value of the sulphur; and the invention con- 95 sists principally in mixing with the sulphur a sufficient quantity of carbonate of magnesium in a finely divided form.

For use as a fungicide to be applied in the form of a dust, the more finely divided the sulphur .is, the better is it adapted for its purpose; but

is, the more likely it is to aggregate into pellets. To offset this tendency, I thoroughly mix with the fine-1y divided sulphur magnesium is preferably even more finely divided than the sulphur; and, for this reason,it is desirable to use precipitated carbonate of magnesium.-

Notwithstanding its recognized merthe more finely divided it of carbonate of-magnesiuni m. a finely divided form. The carbonate of' of time than is necessary where the sulphur is to be used promptly. Two parts by Weight of carbonate of magnesium are sufiicient to give satisfactory results with onehundred parts by weight of sulphur when the sulphur is to beused promptly, and even so little as one part by weight may give good results when the sulphur is to be used promptly and other. conditions are favorable; Whereas it may be advisable to use as much as ten per cent by weight when the sulphur .is intended to be kept for a considerable time under adverse conditions. In

ordinary commercial practice, however, the preferable amount of carbonateof magnesium is about five per cent of the weight of the sulphur.

In the composition, the sulphur is the active element-and the carbonate of magnesium is practically inert as a fungicide. On the other hand, the carbonate has no deleterious eflect either on the foliage or on the fungicidal value of the sulphur; and it forms so small a proportion of the mixture as to increase only slightly the cost of handling, shipping, and distributing the sulphur.

What I claim is: a

1. Finely divided sulphur having mixed therewith finely divided carbonate of magnesium in the proportion of about 100 parts by weight of sulphur to 5 parts by weight of carbonate of magnesium.

2. A composition of matter comprising finely divided sulphur and finely divided carbonate of magnesium in substantially the proportion specified.

3. Finely divided sulphur having mixed therewith finely divided carbonate of magnesium in the following proportions: sulphur, 100 parts by weight, and carbonate of magnesium, Signed at St. Louis, Missouri, this 19th day of November, 1924.

FRANCIS H. POUGH.

from 2 to 10 parts by weight. 

